Tell us about your weekend ride

The plan for today was to spin out to Loch Long, hop over to Loch
Lomond by way of Glen Douglas, then return via Glen Fruin. A cursory
glance at the map told me the route was around 35 miles and it was
plain that the rain would be unrelenting. This removed any uncertainty
over choice of clothes, so I donned my thickest gloves and jacket and
set out.

The lethargy in my legs unwound itself in the first few miles and I
was soon congratulating myself on getting out in spite of the weather.
I was flowing at tempo and the sensations were good as I made my way
along Loch Long. Forty minutes into the ride the first challenge
revealed itself, with a road leading up and away to Glen Douglas (see
picture below). This rarely frequented road provides a stupendous
climb of about a mile, rising steeply from the wooded shore up to a
moorland plateau. First I was spinning, then grinding out of the
saddle in the lowest gear ratio, before the gradient flattened out
over the top of the glen. My reward was to skittle down a mud strewn
and potholed road for five or so miles until I came to the bonnie bank
of Loch Lomond.

I had been dimly conscious that my good pace to that point was thanks
to a tailwind rather than a mercurial transformation in my ability. As
I turned for home that fact hit me slap in the face. There followed a
sapping pull along the A82, with the spray from holiday traffic
ensuring I got fully soaked. So it was a relief to turn into Glen
Fruin, where much of the climbing is done at the outset before the
road sweeps along the edge of the valley. The headwind and rain
intensified and as my power ebbed it became obvious that two bananas
was insufficient sustenance. The chute back down to the Gareloch and
the slow crawl homewards along the shore was made even more
dispiriting when I realised I had *been out on the bike for over three
hours. Three hours!

Back home i jumped in the shower whilst drinking a coke so as to
reheat and take on sugar simultaneously. After some food, a nap,
then even more food, I checked Google maps and found my ride had been
closer to 47 miles than 35 miles. So much for judging a route distance
by eye.